Hi, I am trying to find out about owning a bitch puppy. I have only had boys in the past and we are thinking of getting another dog. When do you have your female dog spayed? We do have our lovely lad Fred, so this would have to be done. Do you need to let her have one season or not? Are there any books abour owning a female dog that I should read? Any advice I would be grateful for.
Hi Cath, having owned male and female dogs over many years , there have really been little differences , apart from the obvious The verdict is out re the best time to spay , some Vets advise before a first season, some say let them have the first season, wait three months and then get them spayed . I had one Lab spayed at 6 months and she did remain rather puppyish , whereas my others were spayed after their first season and didn't , plus they coped better with the post op period , maybe because they were more mature ? An excellent book is The book of the Bitch , it does focus on pregnancy and whelping but also covers much information about the female dog . Behaviour wise , I believe that regardless of sex , you get out what you put in , have never found a great deal of difference at all .
Harley was booked in to be spayed 3 months after her first season. It had to be brought forward 1.5 month as she developed pyometra. Have you found a litter?
I have one bitch and one dog. I decided to have my bitch spayed before her first season, so she was done at 6.5 months. There are pros and cons to having it done before and after, but having come to the decision that there was no conclusive evidence at the moment as to which is "better", I decided to go with what suited us as a household more. With an entire male in the house, it would have been much more disruptive to let her go through a season. Even so, we had a friend look after him for two weeks while Willow was recovering from her spay, so she could be kept quiet and not risk pulling her stitches.
Juno was spayed at 5.5 months after discussion with our vet. The preferred option here is to spay before the first season. Juno was not distressed by the operation (apart from going without breakfast) and only wore her collar at night or when she was left alone just to ensure that she didn't touch her stitches. Despite some reports it has not affected her growth (she stands at the top end of the height for bitches) and weighs 25kg or her maturity. Her maturity is probably hard to assess as she has always been a quiet, relaxed girl . We walked her as normal after the op but she was restricted to long lead with no off lead to prevent running and bouncing around. Apart from that as Kate says, you get what you put in
There is a good article here: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/should-i-have-my-labrador-neutered-the-latest-evidence/ I own an entire male - if I get another puppy, I will get another male dog to avoid the problem of keeping an entire male and female together.
